About this item
#1 New York Timesbestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to romantic Scotland to usher in anew generation of Cynsters in an enchanting tale of mistletoe, magic, and love.It's December 1837, and the young adults of the Cynster clanhave succeeded in having the family Christmas celebration held at snowboundCasphairn Manor, Richard and Catriona Cynster's home. Led by Sebastian,Marquess of Earith, and by Lucilla, future Lady of the Vale, and her twinbrother, Marcus, the upcoming generation has its own plans for the holidayseason.Yet where Cynsters gather, love is never far behind. Thefestive occasion brings together Daniel Crosbie, tutor to Lucifer Cynster'ssons, and Claire Meadows, widow and governess to Gabriel Cynster's daughter.Daniel and Claire have met before, and the embers of an unexpected passionsmolder between them, but Claire—once bitten, twice shy—believes a secondmarriage is not in her stars. Daniel, however, is determined to press his suit.He has seen the love the Cynsters share, and Claire is the lady with whom hedreams of sharing his life. Assisted by a bevy of Cynsters, innate matchmakersevery one, Daniel strives to persuade Claire that trusting him with her hand andher heart is her right path to happiness.Meanwhile, out riding on Christmas Eve, the young adults ofthe Cynster clan respond to a plea for help. Summoned to a humble dwelling inruggedly forested mountains, Lucilla is called on to help with the difficultbirth of a child, while the others rise to the challenge of helping her. With aviolent storm closing in and severely limited options, the next generation ofCynsters face their first collective test—can they save this mother and child—andthemselves, too?Back at the manor, Claire is increasingly drawn to Daniel,and, despite her misgivings, against the backdrop of the ongoing festivitiestheir relationship deepens. Yet she remains torn—until catastrophe strikes, andby winter's light she learns that love—true love—is worth any risk, any price.
About the Author
#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens began writing romances as an escape from the dry world of professional science. Her hobby quickly became a career when her first novel was accepted for publication, and with entirely becoming alacrity, she gave up writing about facts in favor of writing fiction.Laurens's novels are set in the time period of the British Regency, and her settings range from Scotland to India. Laurens has published fifty works of historical romance, including 29 New York Times bestsellers. All her works are continuously available in print and digital formats in English worldwide, and have been translated into many other languages. An international bestseller, among other accolades Laurens has received the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA Award for Best Romance Novella 2008, for The Fall of Rogue Gerrard.Her continuing novels featuring the Cynster family are widely regarded as classics of the genre. Other series include the Bastion Club Novels and the Black Cobra Quartet.Following is a brief autobiography of Stephanie's life before becoming a romance novelist:My early life was not all that ordinary - I was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) many years ago, at a time when the recently independent British colony still behaved socially very much like an outpost of the British Raj. So I know what "tiffin" is. It was a strange society - one that has now died - but I still remember snippets.At age 5, my family upped stakes and moved permanently to Melbourne, Australia, where they've remained ever since. I did all my schooling in Melbourne, finished university with a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, then moved on, together with my husband, acquired along the way, to London.Of course, we didn't just hop on a plane and fly. No. We took what proved to be one of the last true overland journeys from Katmandu to London - through northern India and the Ganges valley, up into Kashmir to laze on houseboats on the lake at Srinigar, then through Pakistan and on up the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan (pre-destruction) . From Kabul, we continued west, across Iran (then still with the Shah) , down to Isfahan, then up to the Caspian Sea, then all the way across Turkey to the ages-old fascination of Istanbul. I still have the most vivid memories of Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey - the most wonderfully dramatic and lonely scenery - places where Nature really impinged on your consciousness. After wandering across Europe, we eventually reached London, after what will undoubtedly rank as the journey of our lives.In London, I took up a position as a research scientist - and my husband did, too. We lived in a lovely little cottage - a 16th century woodcutter's cottage, complete with 16th century tiles (you can tell by the wooden pegs that hold them on) , built onto an oast house (those places with conical roofs where they used to dry hops) , surrounded on all sides by the lush green fields of rural Kent. Of c
